Article by: KEVIN DIAZ , Star Tribune Updated:
October 2, 2013 - 10:14 PM
FiDA highlight
WASHINGTON – A small group of
rank-and-file House members trying to break through the impasse in the
government shutdown revived talks on Wednesday aimed at repealing a health care
tax that falls heavily on Minnesota’s
medical device industry.
The effort is being led by Minnesota Republican Erik
Paulsen, who has cast himself as the champion of an industry estimated
to employ 35,000 in Minnesota. Paulsen said he discussed his proposal Wednesday
with Republican House Speaker John Boehner hours before House and Senate
leaders were scheduled to meet at the White House with President Obama.
“I said this can and should be part
of the solution,” said Paulsen, one of about a dozen House Republicans who have
signaled their willingness to drop GOP demands of defunding or delaying the
Affordable Care Act, often called Obamacare, as a condition of keeping the
government open.
Paulsen sponsored a measure to repeal
the medical device tax as part of a GOP government funding proposal that got 17 Democratic votes over the
weekend. The Democratic-led Senate stripped the language as part of a
broader dispute over Republican efforts to derail the Affordable Care Act,
which rolled out this week.
Minnesotans in Congress from both
parties have been pressing to undo a $30 billion medical device tax levied
under Obama’s health care overhaul. But the two sides have been unable to agree on a way to make
up the lost revenue.
Now, with both sides looking for an
end to the government shutdown, the repeal effort has been caught up squarely
in the protracted politics of the standoff.
Democrats, including Minnesota Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, have said they are unwilling to
repeal the tax as part of any GOP funding measure that delays implementation of
Obamacare as the price for keeping the government open.
“I continue to believe that the
current continuing resolution is not the best place to work out a medical
device tax repeal that the president would sign into law,” Franken said. “I
think the surest way to quickly reopen the government is for the House to vote
on the Senate-passed bill to fund the government at its current levels. But I
will take a careful look at any proposal that emerges.”
Meanwhile, Republicans have used the
issue to attack Minnesota Democrats who voted against the repeal of the medical
device tax as part of a GOP funding measure that puts off the health care law.
Despite the discord, Paulsen said the
repeal effort represents the best opportunity for compromise. “The number one
provision in this entire debate that has brought the most bipartisan support is
repealing the medical device tax,” he said. “So we’ve got an opportunity to make that the linchpin as
part of a solution.”
Paulsen said he has been in talks
with a group of Republican and Democratic House members, including Wisconsin
Democrat Ron Kind, an opponent of the medical device tax. Kind, however, has
been working on a way to offset any lost revenues that might result.
Optimism from the industry
Industry leaders expressed guarded
optimism about the new push on the medical device tax, which already has collected more than $100
million.
“There is reason for optimism that
there is a critical mass and bipartisan support for repealing the tax,” said J.C. Scott, chief lobbyist for
the Advanced Medical Technology Association.
The House voted last year to repeal
the 2.3 percent excise tax on medical device makers like Minnesota-based Medtronic, which has said the tax could
cost it $175 million annually. But efforts to win passage in the Senate have
been stymied by Democratic concerns about losing one of revenue streams to pay
for Obama’s 2010 health care law intended to cover some 40 million uninsured
Americans. The repeal measure also has faced a White House veto threat.
White House officials contend that medical device makers will
benefit from the new business created by the expansion of coverage to Americans
who are now uninsured.
Where state’s senators differ
While Franken and Klobuchar have
vowed to get the repeal through the Senate, they differ on a key sticking
point: how to make up for the revenue.
Last year’s House-passed bill would
have offset the lost taxes by shrinking insurance subsidies for low- and
middle-income workers under the health care law. Franken said the GOP plan would undermine the
goal of affordable health care.
Klobuchar said Wednesday that she is
committed to repealing the medical device tax. However, she said, “the
president has made clear that he will not accept changes to the Affordable Care
Act as a condition for opening the government.” That doesn’t prevent a repeal
in future negotiations, she said, adding that “the best way to get there is for
the House to take up the Senate bill to reopen the government so we can have
those negotiations.
Paulsen said House members are
working on new revenue measures. “It’s definitely something that’s being
conducted by rank-and-file members looking for a way out and a solution with
bipartisan support,” he said.
Even
if enough Democrats come on board, Paulsen’s greatest challenge may be
convincing other Republicans.
“I would call it a win,” Paulsen
said. “It would be a major accomplishment that helps the economy.”
explanthis
Oct. 3, 13
1:12 PM
The medical device
industry is poorly regulated. I have been a patient advocate on the federal
level for nearly 5 years, testifying at FDA meetings about the high rate of
failure of implanted hips, knees and surgical mesh. The industry has fought UDI
(unique device identification), legal protections for harmed patients,
transparency of doctor/device mfg. financial relationships and independent
outcomes registries to adequately inform patients and their providers. Right
now, in WV federal court there are nearly 50,000 harmed women fighting for
their civil rights and compensation for 'morbid disfigurement' from multiple
manufacturers of surgical mesh. The 2.3% tax is warranted and capitulation to
this entitled industry by our elected representatives is undemocratic. Research
on 'Failed Implanted Medical Devices'.
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